Pochettino avoids touchline ban over late kick-off
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Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has escaped a touchline ban for the Champions League final against Liverpool.
Pochettino has been punished by UEFA for Spurs’ semi-final first leg against Ajax kicking off late, but his one-match sanction has been suspended for a year.
Managers of both clubs are held responsible if a Champions League game does not get under way on time, regardless of the circumstances, and it is the club’s second instance of the offence this season.
The first indiscretion earns a warning, as Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag has received, and a repeat offence earns a one-match touchline ban, which is always suspended.
It would have been a bitter blow for Pochettino not to have been in the dugout for the club’s biggest-ever game, against their Premier League rivals in Madrid on June 1.
The Argentinian has taken Spurs further in Europe than any other man before and his presence on the touchline is a big factor for his team.
He has already served a two-match Premier League ban after he accosted referee Mike Dean at the end of his side’s defeat at Burnley in February.
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Spurs have also been fined 20,000 euros (£17,519) for the incident and received a separate 5,000 euros (£4,381) fine for a fan invading the pitch in their quarter-final against Manchester City.
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